


caesura

by chidorinnn



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chidorinnn/pseuds/chidorinnn
Summary: in which Akechi learns just how the leader of the Phantom Thieves got a criminal record in the first place





	caesura

**Author's Note:**

> from tumblr: "Things you said at the kitchen table (or coffee bar, more accurately)"

Technically speaking, Amamiya hadn’t really given Goro any reason to believe that he was anything but a perfectly normal high school student who happened to work part-time at his favorite coffee shop in the city. Questionable opinions on the Phantom Thieves notwithstanding, Amamiya is pleasant enough company, and Akechi doesn’t stay at Leblanc so late for the good coffee alone. 

But as for what exactly would set Amamiya off, Goro never expected it to be his own piece of shit father’s voice.

It happens on a warm September evening, the smell of coffee and curry wafting pleasantly through everything as Goro takes his time with the paperwork he’s splayed across the counter. The TV drones on as it usually does, quiet enough for it to feel more like background noise than something he should be paying attention to. It’s a news channel that’s playing – and Masayoshi Shido’s speech that’s being covered.

Goro resists the urge to roll his eyes, because it wouldn’t be wise to do so. The chances of someone connecting the dots and all too quickly pressuring Shido to take a paternity test are slim to none, but any indication of Goro’s political alignment to the public could spell trouble. And then:

“Hey, can we change the channel?”

Amamiya’s question is so offhand, so nonchalant that it doesn’t immediately register as anything more. For all Goro knows, maybe there’s something else on TV that he wants to watch, instead of the news. 

“Deal with it,” Boss retorts without a hint of malice.

Amamiya, though, clenches his fists as the color starts to fade from his face. “Sakura-san,” he says through gritted teeth as Shido goes on about how he will  _steer this country in the right direction_ , “ _please_.”

… oh. That’s odd. Amamiya has gone far too pale, far too fast. He’s breathing too shallowly, tension hiking up his shoulders and his hands balled up so tightly that Goro can almost see them shaking. 

Boss gives Amamiya a strange look, and then changes to a game show. All too quickly, Amamiya slumps forward with a sigh. “Go upstairs and take five,” says Boss, surprisingly gentle. Amamiya simply nods and pulls off his apron, before heading to the stairs at the corner of the cafe.

Things are… more than a little awkward, after that.

Boss doesn’t change back to the news channel, after Amamiya leaves. The game show goes on with a sort of exaggerated cheer that feels jarring, the sudden gloominess of the cafe – which is just as well, because it’s better that than Shido going on and on and  _on_. 

Some moments later, Boss hands him another cup of coffee and says, “Hey, can you bring this up to him?”

Goro’s never been up to Amamiya’s room before. Amamiya’s never invited him, so it still feels like he’s intruding even though he was told by Boss to do so. Amamiya’s sitting at the edge of his bed, absently petting the cat sprawled across his lap with a distant, unfocused look in his eyes. He doesn’t look up even when Goro’s right in front of him, only snapping back to awareness when Goro clears his throat. “Boss told me to give you this,” he says. 

The cat slinks off Amamiya’s lap and curls into a vaguely loaf-like position, its bright blue eyes staring warily up at Goro. “Thanks,” Amamiya whispers. He blows on the coffee once, and then takes a sip. “Sorry for ruining your evening.”

“Oh!” says Goro. “No, you haven’t ruined anything. Not yet.”

Amamiya lets out a breathless laugh at that. “Sorry. It’s… usually better than this. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.” 

When he pats the space next to him, Goro sits down. “Well, we all have our off days.”

He almost flinches when Amamiya suddenly leans into him, weary and boneless. “Sorry,” he says again. “Just… give me a minute.”

The physical contact is… nice, almost. Goro can only hope that it’s just as nice for Amamiya. “Take as long as you need.”

They stay that way for a long time, with Amamiya taking in deep, measured breathes and Goro fighting off every instinct that says that he should be doing something, anything else.

Then: “Did I ever tell you about how I got arrested?”

Goro doesn’t mean to, but he startles at that. He almost expects Amamiya to make some sort of quip like  _Surprise, Detective Prince, you’ve been hanging out with a juvenile delinquent this entire time_ , cocky and arrogant and  _normal_  – but this is anything but normal, and Amamiya’s voice is still a low, hoarse whisper and he’s still pressed to Goro’s side as if he will evaporate without the physical contact to ground him.

“It happened last year,” says Amamiya. “There was a woman being harassed by a man. When I tried to help her, the man fell down and got hurt. Then he sued me.”

Goro clenches his fists. “Who was it,” he says in a low whisper – because it’s not fair that Amamiya had to go through something like that, not when Goro has the power to do something about it as a detective. “I’ll––”

“I don’t want you to do anything, Akechi,” Amamiya says tiredly. “And it’s not like I could tell you anyway. He made sure his name wasn’t written down anywhere near mine, and I don’t even remember what the guy looks like.” He laughs, but it’s a hollow, brittle thing. “Stupid, isn’t it? Forgetting something so important like that…”

But it’s  _not_  stupid – because your body has a way of protecting you from things that it knows will hurt you, even your own memories. There are enough gaps in Goro’s own memory for him to be familiar with the concept.

“I just…” Amamiya continues, “… kind of remember what he sounds like. Not exactly, but that guy on TV… I don’t know.”

“Has this happened before?” Goro asks. “Not you getting arrested, but…” –that moment where Amamiya was very obviously not okay, for reasons that were not immediately obvious to Goro or, likely, anyone else in the cafe.

“Mm… once or twice. It doesn’t happen super often, but…” Amamiya trails off with a sigh. 

The cat wriggles back onto Amamiya’s lap and says, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ren. You know that.” Goro very deliberately does not acknowledge it.

Still, it does the job and a small smile works its way up Amamiya’s lips. He lets his hand hover over the cat's head, and when it head-butts it, his smile widens. “Thanks,” he says, and Goro doesn’t know if he’s speaking to him or to the cat, but either way, he doesn’t complain when Goro stays until it's so late that he has to scramble to catch the last train.

**Author's Note:**

> i know the popular refrain is "i suck at summaries" but JOKE'S ON YOU FRIENDS it turns out my one weakness is titling things


End file.
